Space shuttle Endeavour's hatch will be opened by NASA techs one last time this week, in part to retrieve thousands of souvenir patches and a photo — the retired orbiter's final flown cargo.

Endeavour, which is now temporarily parked in a United Airlines hangar at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), is being prepared for its delivery to the California Science Center (CSC) for display. The shuttle, piggybacking atop a NASA jumbo jet, landed at LAX on Friday (Sept. 21) after a three-day cross-country ferry flight and four-hour flyover of its new home's state.

Just a few days before Endeavour left the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the last time, NASA fulfilled a request by the CSC and stowed a care package on the shuttle's mid-deck inside its crew compartment. Stored in a locker, the pouch was flown with the orbiter on its last time taking to the air, and the final ferry flight of the space shuttle era.

While black-bordered versions of the patches are already for sale in the CSC's gift shop, the flown patches — which are set apart by their gold thread border — will not be sold. Instead, says science center officials, they will be gifted to those who made "Mission 26" possible: team members who worked on the ferry flight and the upcoming overland transport, as well as the center's donors who helped fund Endeavour's temporary and permanent exhibits.

Since last year, the CSC has invited its supporters to join Team Endeavour as part of its "EndeavourLA" campaign. Donors could (and still can) choose to sponsor one of the more than 23,000 heat shield tiles that cover the shuttle's underbelly and upper surfaces. For donations of $1,000 or more, supporters receive a "limited edition Endeavour gift" — the ferry flight flown patch.

A photo of a sample patch of the type flown on the space shuttle Endeavour is included in the article. Below is an image of the souvenir version, now for sale ($7.99; "ENDVR M26 WOVENPATCH") at the California Science Center.

KSCartist

A great design. I wish I created it. Is it a silk screen like the Colbert patches Robert? The amount of clear detail is impressive.

Robert Pearlman

I believe they are dye sublimated patches, rather than silkscreen.

hoorenz

I think it is what is stated: woven. With that technique, you get much higher resolution.

garymilgrom

I bet it's obvious but I can't figure out what the 25:123:12 means. Thanks.

Robert Pearlman

From the article:

The numbers "25:123:12" are inscribed along the top of the patches. The "25" is for Endeavour's 25 missions to space and the "123" represents the more than 123 million miles (198 million kilometers) the orbiter traveled in flight. The "12" is the number of miles the shuttle will travel on the road to the science center.

I now see there are two slightly different design versions of this patch. A 'woven' one, (on the left with 'United States' and the 'U.S. flag' on the fuselage), and an 'embroidered' one, (on the right with 'Endeavour' on the fuselage). Then there are the (two?) 'flown' versions which have a 'gold' threaded border instead of a 'black' one. Is that four of these patches to find and collect?

I've had no luck trying to contact the CSC either, Luc. I will have to call on the services of my friend in the U.S. to see if he has any better luck from his end.

GoesTo11

I called the California Science Center store (213-744-7422) on Saturday and purchased two each of the woven patches at $4.99 a piece and the fully embroidered version at $7.99 a piece, plus $3.00 shipping.

The young lady who took my order asked me how I came to know about the patches as they've apparently had quite a few inquiries and orders from out of state. I told her to get ready for more.

Hart Sastrowardoyo

Definitely don't like the embroidered with the big "Endeavour" on the side. Takes away from the patch. Probably would have been better, if it was too small, to just leave the name (of the orbiter as well as of the flag and United States) off.

Robert Pearlman

quote:Originally posted by Kevin T. Randall:Then there are the (two?) 'flown' versions which have a 'gold' threaded border instead of a 'black' one.

According to the California Science Center, there was only one type that was flown on the ferry flight, the gold bordered woven patch.

aero-engineer

When I was in there Friday, they also had blue T-shirts with the same logo, logo shot glasses and mugs.

Kevin T. Randall

May I ask what are the new prices for the two versions of this patch? Many thanks.

Robert Pearlman

The prices are as reported, but as noted, reversed. $7.99 for the woven version and $4.99 for the embroidered patch.

James913

Not patches, but if you would like the design on mugs or shot glasses, the CSC has these available and you can order them over the telephone. (The mug is $9.99 and the shot glass is $8.99.)

GoesTo11

Received my patches today, and yes, as Robert noted, I had the prices reversed in my earlier post.

I really like both versions... it's an attractive, bright, colorful, very "California" design.